"These came for you," Elizabeth's assistant said as she plunked a bouquet of red roses down on her desk. "From the same guy who's sent you flowers every week since you started working here, and that was what, five years ago?"

"Yes," Elizabeth nodded, standing up and straightening the wrinkles in her gray skirt. She was twenty-eight, and her life was going very well, now that she was the editor of a very prestigious fashion magazine, among other delightful things that had happened to her. No need to have that idiot Charlie ruin it. "Throw them out like the others. I don't want them."

"If it's not stepping out of line," her assistant said, pulling the card out of the vase. "Just who is Charlie and why does he want to send you so many flowers? What did he do?"

"He's an old boyfriend," Elizabeth said shortly. "Our relationship ended horribly and I have no desire to think about it ever again. Am I clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," her assistant said, taking the flowers and departing.

When she returned, she looked at her phone. "You have about twenty minutes til your fiance comes to take you to lunch," she added.

"Thank you," Elizabeth replied and watched her assistant slip discreetly out the door while someone else slipped in, the sight of him causing her to rise to her feet. "Charlie!" She cried. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Just came to visit," Charlie replied. He grinned and clicked his tongue before placing a white rose on her desk. "I knew you'd throw away my other flowers," he said.

"Well, then why do you keep sending them to me?" She asked in frustration.

"Cause red roses mean love," Charlie replied, leaning close to her. "And I want you to know I'm still thinking about you."

"Well, that's good!" Elizabeth spat. "I want you to think about me every day, and about how badly you screwed up. And I don't want you sending me any more flowers. That ship has sailed." She put her hand on the desk and Charlie's eyes widened as he noticed the big ring she wore.

"What the hell is that?" He asked, looking perturbed. "Where did it come from?"

"From my fiance," Elizabeth smiled and stroked the ring lovingly. "He owns three diamond mines, you know."

"How could you get engaged?" Charlie asked. 'What's your problem?"

A smug grin curved Elizabeth's lips. "Did you honestly think I was going to wait for you?" She asked. "Cause I'm not."

"This guy you're engaged to, is he a vampire?" Charlie asked.

"No, he's human," Elizabeth replied. "I've decided to marry a human, grow old, and die."

"Well, don't do anything rash," Charlie said quickly.

"Oh, I'm not being rash," Elizabeth replied. "I'm very sure about this. After living my entire life with a family of vampires, I've decided that I'd rather live with my own kind. That means the next time you see me will be my funeral. If I decide to let you in, that is."

Then there was a knock at the door. Elizabeth looked at the clock and smiled as a young man who looked very similar to Charlie but was taller strode in and kissed Elizabeth's hand. "Ready to meet your parents for lunch so we can show them the ring?" He asked.

"Yes," Elizabeth nodded. "Let's go. Thank you for being a tad early." They then headed toward the door and Elizabeth's fiance asked who Charlie was.

"He's no one," Elizabeth replied, ignoring it as Charlie's jaw dropped a little. "You don't need to concern yourself with him."

"Stephen!" Katherine said, getting up to kiss her soon-to-be son-in-law as he and Elizabeth approached the table. "How wonderful to see you!"

"It's wonderful to see you too, Mrs. Mikaelson," Stephen told her. "I'm sorry we're late. Were you waiting long?"

"Oh, no," Gregory replied. "We only arrived a few minutes before you did." He looked at his daughter. "Have you been working hard?"

"Yes, but it wasn't work that held us up," Elizabeth sighed. "Charlie came to see me."

"Are you okay?" Gregory asked in alarm. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No," Elizabeth shook her head. "He was actually reasonably well behaved. I think Aunt Laura and Uncle Edward really took him to task after I got out of the basement."

"Wait, what happened between you and him?" Stephen asked. "Do I need to get a restraining order?"

"No, don't bother," Elizabeth replied, patting him on the arm as he let out her chair for her. "I have it all under control. It's nothing you need to worry about."

Stephen just gave her a long look and then sat between her and Katherine.

"Can I see your ring again?" Katherine asked Elizabeth after a few seconds?"

"I knew you were gonna ask me that," Elizabeth replied and held out her hand. "You wanna see it every time I see you."

"Well and why not?" Katherine asked, stroking the ring lovingly, just as her daughter had. "It's so beautiful. Stephen has wonderful taste."

"The diamond was from one of my own mines, you know," Stephen bragged. "I picked the biggest one they would give me."

"Well, even if you could only give her a smaller ring," Gregory said, "It's nice to know that she's found someone who appreciates her. That hasn't always been the case."

"Is that so?" Stephen asked. "Well, I have to say I'm glad all your past paramours have been complete morons. Otherwise, I never would have gotten to meet you." He gave her a kiss on top of the head and Elizabeth smiled, thinking how much easier things with her parents were now that she was no longer infatuated with Charlie Emerson.

After the encounter with Elizabeth, Charlie went back to work and told his assistant that he didn't feel well so he was taking the rest of the day off. He then headed to his parents' house and used his key to let himself in.

"Mom?" He called. "It's just me...not a burglar. Are you home?"

"Yes and alone, thankfully," Laura said, coming up the stairs. "Katherine went out to lunch and I told her she could take as much time as she wanted. You're supposed to be at work. What's wrong?"

"Has Katherine told you that Elizabeth is engaged?" He asked. "To a human?"

"She didn't mention that he was human, but she's been bragging non-stop ever since it happened, so yeah," Laura nodded. "I know."

"And you didn't think to mention it to me?" Charlie cried. "It would have taken two minutes of your time!"

Laura sighed. "I didn't tell you cause I knew you'd try and do something ridiculous if I did. I mean, look at all you've accomplished since you and Elizabeth split up. You have your own business, your own house, lots of friends...so why dwell on the past? Why not go find another nice girl who will actually like you and whom you haven't nearly killed?"

"You make it seem so easy," Charlie replied. "But really it isn't."

"Yes, it is!" Laura cried. "The only reason why it's so hard for you is that you're being stubborn and not letting Elizabeth go."

Charlie thought a moment. "You think she would be jealous if she saw me with someone else?"

"No," Laura shook her head. "I think she'd be happy, as would all the rest of us. Now, go back to work and do something productive. I don't want you moping and dwelling on this all day. This is just like how your dad was before my father got him that accounting job at one of his businesses that only employs vampires, and I don't want to repeat the experience."

"Fine," Charlie sighed and stomped out of his parents' house to go back to work, where he tried so hard to focus on greeting cards and not his crush on Elizabeth. He even smiled at the woman who worked on the payroll, and who he knew for a fact, had a crush on him. He felt bad as she skipped away, but then thought to himself that maybe going on a date, just to see what would happen, wouldn't be such a bad idea after all.

"So what's eating you, kid?" Roxie asked Ethan. "You come in here every day and ask me for a drink. And then you sit at that table all by yourself. What's going on?"

"It's Jeffrey," Ethan replied. "After he turned, he and his family moved away. Something about his grandfather wanting them to and they caved. But this," he stroked the table gently. "This is our table, and I'm always hoping he'll come back. That's why I sit here all the time. Now will you finally let me have a drink?"

"Fine," Roxie replied, plunking a beer down in front of him. "But I don't think you'll like it."

Ethan took a swig, his eye on the door. It suddenly burst open and Ethan spit out the beer as Jeffrey, now clad in leather and leading a bunch of very tough-looking boys, strode in to sit at the bar. Jeffrey looked at him for a second, then turned away, and when Ethan tried to give him a welcoming kiss back, he pushed him away. "I don't know who you are," he said. "But I killed the last man who thought he could put his lips on me," Jeffrey whispered harshly. "Got me?"

"Yes," Ethan swallowed and backed away. "I guess so." He then went to his table and grabbed his coat, and as he was doing that, Vince (who'd seen the whole thing as he was bringing in new bottles of rum and vodka for behind the bar) came up to him. "Are you all right?" He asked. "You don't have to leave just because of those idiots."

"Yeah," Roxie added, coming to stand on Ethan's other side. "Stay. Have fun."

"Thanks, but...that guy that was just talking to me, he's an ex of mine who has apparently undergone a radical personality change," Ethan told them. "And I don't think I want to be in here because of that. I think I'm gonna go."

"Well, all right," Roxie said, hugging him. "If you feel you have to. Take care of yourself."

"Thanks," Ethan replied, casting one last long glance at Jeffrey. "I'll try." Then he went back to his table, grabbed the nearly full bottle of beer that he ordered, and strode out.

Though he tried hard to ignore Jeffrey's rejection, it proved to be a lot harder than he thought, and it wasn't something Ethan felt comfortable talking to his mother about as much as he needed to. And of course his father would be no help in that area. He tried to find another boy but there weren't any that he was interested in, so he continued to be miserable until one day, a girl came to his locker and said, "Hi, I'm new. I sit next to you in biology and I think you're kind of cute. Want to go out sometime?"

Ethan looked at her. In a purely aesthetic sense, she was attractive. She had long, curly blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and sparkling white teeth. Her clothes hugged her closely, and if he was interested in her that way, it would have been very appealing to him. He opened his mouth to tell her that he was sure she was nice, but he was gay. However, when he tried to say this, no words came out. Finally, he blurted, thinking of Jeffrey and the fact that he'd probably not get another date for ages if he didn't take this one, "Okay, how about Friday at seven?"

"Cool!" She smiled, took his hand, and wrote her number on it. "I'm Lisa, by the way. See you on Friday, Ethan."

"See you!" Ethan called after her. "Can't wait!" Then, once she was gone, he bit his lip. What had he just done? He sighed. He'd have to bring her home to meet his parents. If anything good came out of this mistake, it would be that, at least for a moment, his father would be happy.

"Okay," Laura said as she led Rebecca down to the basement salon. "Have a seat and tell me what you want me to do with you today."

"You know, this is really different," Rebecca said, looking around. "When Amy and Selina told me you had a salon here, and then I read about it again in that magazine, I knew I just had to try it! And I want a bob, I think. Or maybe only a few inches cut off." She held up some of her long, blonde hair. "Yeah...just a few inches."

"Some people are put off by having a haircut in someone's house, but when I started, it was nice to be able to work and take care of my sons at the same time," Laura told her.

"How old are your sons?" Rebecca asked. "I have one who looks around twenty-ish."

"Charlie is in his late twenties, and is the head of a very successful greeting card and stationary business," Laura replied as she worked the shampoo in Rebecca's hair and then sprayed it off. "And Eli is sixteen."

Just then, Eli poked his head in. "Sorry for interrupting," he said when he noticed Rebecca. I'll come back."

"It's fine," Rebecca said, sitting up and gazing at the sweet-looking blue-eyed boy with the curly dark hair while Laura toweled her hair dry. "I can wait to be made beautiful."

"Mom won't have to work hard at all," Eli blurted out, then flushed. "But I promise I won't take too long."

"No problem," Rebecca chirped. "I don't mind."

Laura followed Eli out of the basement and said, "Does this thing you need to talk to me about have anything to do with your brother?"

"No," Eli shook his head. "I just wanted to know if you've seen my Algebra book. I left it here. I need to get it, and then my friend Sean is driving me back to school before my next class. I'm on my study hall period now."

"I wondered what that book was doing under our bed," Laura said. "Was your dad helping you with math last night?"

"He was," Eli nodded. "And thanks for your help." He paused. "Who was that woman?"

"You mean the one whose hair I'm about to cut? Her name is Rebecca. She's a witch friend of your grandmother and Aunt Amy," Laura replied. "See you when you get home from school tonight."

"See you," Eli replied. He went to get his book (which was right where his mother said it was) and then went to Sean's car, all the while thinking of the pretty blonde he'd seen in his mother's hair salon, even though she was older than him, and he'd never have a chance with her anyway.